In a game of power, mind still matters

DAVID Ferrer is as fit as any top-four player and momentarily fits into the top four - but by his own recognition is not fit to be there.

Almost certainly, this will be confirmed on Thursday night when he plays world No. 1 and defending champion Novak Djokovic in an Australian Open semi-final.

There is fitness and there is fitness. Famously, the diminutive Ferrer is one of the hardest-working players in tennis, never happier than when he is running around on a court. He was out there again in Wednesday's midday sun and would have stayed all day, except his practice court booking expired.

The least he gains from this fanaticism is the certain knowledge that if he finds himself in a corner - as he did in his quarter-final against Nicolas Almagro - as long as he does not run out of points, he will not run out of puff. It makes him a tenacious opponent.

The trouble is he is playing in an era marked by lavish rewards and pinch tests. The statuesque Djokovic often has said the most significant change in tennis in his playing time is the professional attention to physical detail: before, during and after matches, in and out of season.

The details of his own regime he guards like a commercial secret, Kentucky Fried Chicken's 11 herbs and spices. In Djokovic's case, it would be gluten-free herbs and spices.

The benefits were plain for all to see this week as he outlasted the gallant Stan Wawrinka over a draining five hours into Monday morning, then regenerated to beat Tomas Berdych in a quarter-final on Tuesday night.

Berdych said he thought Djokovic was the fittest player on the tour now. Ditto, said Ferrer.

But there would only be a millimetre or two of skinfold in it. Roger Federer scarcely sweats at all, Rafael Nadal does it by the bucket - but both are Superman fit. As for Andy Murray, the most interesting part of the dour self he exposes publicly is an ironman-style fitness program, in which he wears either a hair shirt or none at all.

Fitness weighs as a factor in tennis more than ever.

A survey by Victoria University found tennis players rate highly among athletes in terms of aerobic capacity, leg strength and speed off the mark. ''Few other sports come to mind that demand the athlete possess so many different physical and skill qualities to succeed,'' wrote the university's Damian Farrow on The Conversation website.

Other than grass, which is little used, court surfaces are slower now, putting a premium on strength and endurance. American coach and former player Brad Gilbert notes 80 per cent of top players calculatedly spend at least half their training time on clay, the slowest.

''Clay teaches discipline and how to build a point,'' Gilbert said on Foxsports.com.

''There are no cheap shots. It's harder to put the ball away.''

Fitness, though a big part of the story, can never be all of it.

In Djokovic's win over Wawrinka and Ferrer's over Almagro, there was an abiding sense that the lesser player would, at length, give in to doubts, however deeply suppressed.

Tennis is almost feudal in this way. Now it becomes a problem for Ferrer, who has said so publicly that he does not see himself in the same league as the top four and is only keeping a seat warm for Nadal. ''I will have to play better tomorrow than today to win, that's for sure,'' he said after beating Almagro.

Djokovic would prefer to avoid another all-night dogfight.

''I need to be aggressive on the court,'' the world No. 1 said. ''I need to step in and try to be in control of the match.

''Otherwise, he makes his own rhythm. He makes his own pace off the court. That's where he is very dangerous.

''He's a great competitor.''

If Djokovic and Ferrer were running a marathon, they would be cheek by jowl as they came into the stadium. But they are playing a major semi-final, a tennis match that Ferrer has already conceded and now must somehow win back.